Tony Ellison didn’t get a ton of opportunities as a wide receiver in his first three seasons with the Arizona Wildcats. Injuries derailed him at times. Established veterans superseded him on the depth chart.
Competitor that he is, being relegated primarily to special-teams duty frustrated Ellison. But he never doubted that he had come to the right place.
Arizona had shown loyalty to him once before; Ellison would reciprocate. Their faith in each other is starting to pay dividends.
Ellison, now a redshirt junior, leads the Wildcats in receiving yards (182) and receiving touchdowns (two) through four games. He ranks second on the team in catches (14). He is becoming the player his coaches and teammates always thought he could become.
“I’ve said it before: He’d probably be the one guy that people hadn’t really talked about that could have a breakout year,” said UA coach Rich Rodriguez, whose team is off this weekend before visiting Colorado next Saturday. “Because he’s practiced like that and worked like that.”
Coaches and teammates have raved about Ellison’s practice habits and work ethic for years. It just didn’t translate into in-game production until this year.
The departures of seniors Samajie Grant, Trey Griffey and Nate Phillips created a void at wide receiver. Ellison is among the veterans who have stepped up to fill it.
“The biggest thing with Tony is he’s getting an opportunity,” Rodriguez said. “He’s healthy, and he’s getting a chance.”
Arizona took a chance of sorts on Ellison while recruiting him out of Granite Bay (California) High.
Four games into his senior season with the Grizzlies, Ellison tore his ACL. Although he had committed to Arizona the previous summer, Ellison also drew interest from Cal. The school intrigued him; family members had gone to Berkeley, which is about 100 miles southwest of Granite Bay.
But as Ellison tells it, Cal stopped talking to him after he blew out his knee. Arizona stuck with him at a time when he feared he might “lose it all.”
“These guys kept my scholarship,” Ellison said. “It was a big deal. I’ll always appreciate them for that.”
Ellison redshirted as a freshman in 2014. He spent that year rehabbing his knee, getting stronger (Ellison, who’s 5-11, said he weighed 150 pounds when he arrived; he’s now listed at 188) and learning the finer points of playing receiver.
Ellison often would be the motion man in Granite Bay’s offense, taking the ball on fly sweeps or bubble screens; he had relatively little experience as a downfield pass catcher.
But Ellison had speed (he was a sprinter for the Grizzlies track team) and hand-eye coordination from playing his favorite sport, basketball. He also had a strong desire to improve. It didn’t take first-year receivers coach Theron Aych long to figure that out.
“He’s not a flash-in-the-pan kind of guy,” Aych said. “He comes out, he busts his butt every day, he doesn’t say anything, he just gets his job done.
“He’s a guy that I’d like a lot of guys in our room to continue to emulate.”
Aych described Ellison as a film junkie. Sometimes they’ll watch cutups together. Sometimes Ellison will do it alone.
“That’s what really sets him apart,” Aych said. “We’ve got a bunch of talented guys, but what are you going to do to make yourself and the team better?”
Ellison mainly works out of the slot, where he can utilize his quickness, craftiness and toughness. Slot receivers generally don’t face jams at the line of scrimmage. But they often work in congested areas against bigger players.
“You’ve gotta be a little tough and a little bit crazy,” Aych said. “You’re going across the middle a lot. He’s always in traffic.
“You’ve gotta have a guy that has a little savvy about him, and that’s what Tony’s built on. He’s very productive because he understands and has a good feel for the game.”
Ellison and quarterback Brandon Dawkins were part of the same signing class, and the two have had a bond ever since. They played against each other in high school and have spent countless hours together on the practice field.
“Every offseason I always tell you guys: Tony Ellison, he’s working his tail off,” Dawkins said. “He’s in my ear a lot; that helps me out. He’ll tell me what he’s thinking on a play. I’ll let him know what I’m thinking.”
During practice this week, Ellison gave Dawkins what the quarterback termed “a suggestion.” They hooked up for a touchdown on the play.
Against Utah last week, Ellison had a career-high six receptions for 78 yards and a TD. He and Dawkins connected for 24 yards on third-and-6 in the second quarter, a play that led to Arizona’s first touchdown. Dawkins’ 30-yard strike to Ellison with 2:44 left in the fourth brought the Wildcats within six points.
But Arizona couldn’t close that gap. The Wildcats lost two weeks earlier to Houston as well. They are 2-2 entering the Colorado game.
Yes, Ellison is in the midst of a “breakout” campaign. He chooses another word that starts with “b” to describe the season to date.
“It’s bittersweet,” Ellison said. “I want to win games, too. It’s nice to have individual success, but team success is way more important to me.”
Extra points
- Chris Hayes, the father of UA sophomore safety Isaiah Hayes, tweeted late Thursday night that his son had successful surgery. Hayes has been out all season because of a shoulder injury. Rodriguez indicated earlier in the week that Hayes was unlikely to play this year.
- Rodriguez attended the Cienega-Salpointe Catholic game on Thursday night. The Bobcats’ star quarterback, Jamarye Joiner, is committed to Arizona.
